Purpose

Robotics educational project of RSJ for high school students in the world

Study and report of the International Robot Exhibition 2017(iREX 2017)

Awards for outstanding presentations

Information sharing of robotics educational trial on each school and experience of international communication

Encourage of future robotics researcher and engineer

Performance

”Robot high school” that was an educational program for Japanese high school students using real industrial robot as learning resource were held in 2009 and 2011. These were corroboration with iREX 2009 and 2011.

1st International Robotics Forum for High School Students (IRH 2013) was held as one of globalization actions in 2013 when IROS 2013 was hold at Tokyo. Since IRH 2013, series of IRH have been held in every odd year that is the year of iREX until this year.
Performances of each IRH are as follows. The number of the participants, schools and countries have increased in every time, and IRH may be growing up as an international education event.

Table 1 Performances of each IRH

Year

Total

Japan

Over sea

Countries

Supporters

1st in 2013

Participants

109

91

18

China, Japan, Norway, USA

2

Schools

19

16

3

2nd in 2015

Participants

115

34

91

Brazil, China, Japan, Korea, Mexico (2 Schools), USA

5

Schools

13

7

6

3rd in 2017

Participants

129

36

93

Brazil, China, Japan, Korea, Philippine, Singapore, Mexico, USA

4

Schools

13

6

7

Entrant school (You can refer introduction of each school with clicking the name of each school.)

Report

2. Study of iREX 2017 and themes of the study

All schools had done the study before IRH 2017 based on one theme that was selected by their self from following study themes. All students investigated real robots exhibited in iREX 2017 site in the afternoon of the Day One, and completed their study report that are presented at the Day Two open presentation with adding the result of the investigation.

Theme 1: Systematization of fundamental technologies in industrial robots for manufacturing use
Aim of this theme is to learn fundamental technologies consisting industrial robots.
Please select one category from following three fundamental technologies in industrial robots for manufacturing use.
Please investigate variety of technologies, base principles and etc. included in the selected category, then classify and sort out the investigation results so as to clarify total image of the selected fundamental technology.
< Candidates of category selection>
1) Sensor technologies
2) Mechanical elements; e.g. actuators, reduction gears, structures, mechanisms, materials, and system constructions
3) Robot operating technologies; e.g. safety technologies, and system integration technologies

Theme 3: Most advanced technologies of robots
Aim of this theme is to learn most advanced technologies of robots.
Please investigate the most advanced technologies for robots, and explain novelties, and/or usefulness of the technology, then how robots have been improved by the technology. If it is possible, please picture how the world will be changed by the robot evolution.
Technologies have some phases from basic research level to practical use level and there are individual most advanced technologies in the each phase as shown in following reference materials. First of all, please recognize the phase in which your focusing robot belong to. Then please investigate what is the most advanced technology in that phase.
For a description of novelty, there is a way to state that it is solved the problems by a method which has not been used so far, the combination of principles, law, methods, individual way, or why there is a way to discuss whether now possible to use the way.
For a description of the usefulness, there is a way to argue that it has the same functionality at a lower cost, implementation of more functions at the same cost, functions which could not be realized until now although it cost more.
For changing the world, there is a way to discuss changes in the views of the site, the ways how people works, changes in lifestyle, changes in the common sense, expansion of the work efficiency by the robot, the effect of reducing the programming time and effort of the robot.

3. Presentation

Presentation was held at the room 703 on Sunday December 3, 2017.
Representatives of 13 schools presented their study. The presentation time of each school was 13 minutes, and all schools punctually finished in the limit time. Time of the field study at iREX site and preparation time for the presentation was limited in short time, however every student made excellent presentation.

＜Presentation data and selected study theme of each school＞

School name
(Please refer the presentation data with clicking the school name)

4. Awards ceremony:

a) Following four schools were selected as outstanding presenter in all 13 presentations of the “Study report” and RSJ presented them “IRH 2017 Best Study Report Award”.

Caritas Don Bosco School; Philippines

National Junior College; Singapore

Waialua High & Intermediate School; USA

Hosen Gakuen High School Risu-Inter; Japan

* Click to enlarge

b) ”Testimonial for Study Report of IRH 2017” was presented to all teachers with regarding their excellent leading of their students.

c) “Certificate of IRH2017” was presented to all participants.

d) General comment：
We assessed the presentations to select award winners. However, all presentations were excellent and level difference between all presentations was negligible. All speakers were exactly punctual to the presentation limit time with well controlled speaking. Attitude, utterance and manners of presentation might be better than those of university students in many conferences. Though the preparing time of pre-study and investigation time in iREX 2017 wasn’t so enough, all study contents were brushed up well and all presentations were well summarized and easy to understand. We believe that these excellent presentations depend on daily student’s effort and good leading of teachers. We would like to give honor to their great activity.

5. Album of photos and movies:

6. Announcement about next IRH:

IRH 2018 is going to be held in October 2018 at Tokyo!
In IRH 2018, participants will be able to find and study world advanced robots, because IRH 2018 will collaborate with Japan Robot Week (JRW) 2018 and World Robot Summit (WRS) 2018 that is a pre-competition of WRS 2020.
We would be grateful, if you could confirm the detail of them with following sites and join to IRH 2018.